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Oct-6-2009 15:36

Things don't always go as you would want them to go. I looked at the dead body of 26 year old Carol Fisher. She had been mutilated by someone. Stabbed a total of seven times and then shot once in the head. The local police knew who the killer was. The problem was finding him. They had a name. They had proof. They had physical evidence that linked him to the crime and witness evidence. It was enough evidence to put him a way for life.

I was worned that he is a master of disguises. He can disapper with the blink-of-an-eye.

Detective Thomas McDonald looked at me when I was finished examining the body. "I heard about your reputation around here."

"What about it?" I asked

"If you can catch our killer, Charles Craig, I can promise a handsome reward." he replied.

I thought about it. Money. I needed money real bad. I was behind on rent for both my apartment and my office. Money is good.

"Fine. I'll take it," I said and I left back for my office. I reviewed the background and case file of Mr. Craig. This wasn't going to be easy, that was for sure. I decided to make a phone call to a few friends of mine to see if they would be interested in making some decent money in helping to find a killer who could blend in to even the smaller crowds.

It was dark and there was nothing I could do for the night. I'd have to start in the morning. So I went home for the night to get some sleep. The next morning, went to my office to make a call to a few friends to see if they'd be interested in making a few dollars in helping to find this killer.

Oct-18-2009 20:11

Vulkie let out a sigh, "It was the money. It was always about the money."

Marc slammed his gun down on the table, "You bitch! You played us all! You came to me and said you wanted in on this!"

Vulkie nodded, "I know," she responded, "and I did, but I... look I'm sure you've been there. You all have connections! You all have played for the money over the justice at some point or another!"

Marc shook his head, "No Vulkie, that's where you're wrong. It's about what's right. It's why we got into this, and I think you've lost your moral compass."

Vulkie looked into the eyes of the detectives around her, she didn't have a single friend in the room. "Heim!" she cried, "You know me! We've worked together so much. You understand don't you?"

Heimlich shook his head, "I suppose I misjudged your character Vulkie. I thought you were a morally sound person, but I've been reading you wrong all along. I'm sorry, but I don't see any way out of this."

Marc leaned over, reached into Vulkie's jacket, and removed her detective's license. "I'll hold onto this," he said coldly, "until you straighten things out."

Vulkie stood up, shaking and began to walk out of the room. She turned towards the others, tears beginning to roll down her face, "What do I do now?" she asked.

The room stayed silent until Molly quietly said, "Something else." With that, Vulkie turned and departed the group, leaving an uneasy feeling among the remaining detectives.

Oct-18-2009 20:30

Molly watched Vulkie go, her mouth set in a firm line. The wound over her eye formed a hook shape lined in black, making the glittering hardness of her blue eyes all the more evident.

"I admit I found it suspicious she was able to get to me so fast," Molly mused. "This must be such a disappointment to you all." She stood and picked up a piece of paper.

"We must regroup." she said decisively, picking up a pencil. "Who have we met with, interviewed? Our suspects? Charles Craig sightings; any correlations? Any evidence or clues we've picked up? Our case is in pieces at the moment, we must draw it all together!"

Charlie pulled the picture he had found out of his pocket and set it on the table for all of us to see.

"I found this. Its a picture of Charles Craig and the victim, and on the back..." he flipped it over so that the 117-A was visible.

"What do you think that number could be?" Nellie mused, as they all took in the latest find.

Oct-19-2009 17:05

" I'll tell ya Nellie I dont really know just yet. But rest assured I intend to find out." I said. I looked to Marc who was studying the numbers intently.

" Well Molly I do agree with you we need to regroup." I said.

" Wait a minute I've got it!" Marc yelled. "It's a berth number at the peir. See the picture is of Charles and the victim at the peir."

" Your right." Molly said.

" I'm dont know its a long shot." Heim said shaking his head.

"Hey its worth a shot. We got nothing else solid to go on. " I said.

Heim said " Maybe its a....

Oct-20-2009 18:35

"Wait!" Molly's voice rang out, and everyone turned to look at her in surprise. She was staring down at the number scrawled on the back of the photograph, her eyes nearly slits.

"If I were Charles Craig I would hide my tracks in plain sight." she said, reaching to look at the picture. "When we look at this number we immediately associate it with the thing closest to it. The pier number. But I would bet you anything it's a false lead. Aren't the safety deposit boxes at the bank numbered in the exact same way?"

Everyone paused at this thought.

"I could be wrong though." she said decisively. "The safest thing to do would be to split up the team and send a half to each location. Unless someone else can think of something because I'll be blunt: we're running out of leads here, and Charles could flee the city any minute."

Oct-20-2009 21:53

After Molly was done speaking, there was a stunned silence in my office. I slowly moved around in a circle. I sat down in my chair, and pulled out my pipe. I didn't light it, but I put the end in my mouth. I thought about what Molly said.

Finally after a moment of silence I looked up

"Molly maybe on to something. I think we should split up. There are five us. So there will be an even number of people. Who ever is going to the pier, will go with three people. Who ever is going to the bank to check the deposit boxes will go with two." I said,"Charlie? You, Heimlich, and Nellie, go check the pier. Molly and I will go and check the deposit boxes."

"Can do," Charlie said, "When and where do we meet back?"

I pulled out my pocket watch and opened it. "It's 8:30 am," I said. "We meet back here at noon. That gives us thee and a half hours to get to our destination, find out what we can, and get back here to talk about our findings," I said.

I stood up. My blood was pumping. I was still angry at Vulkie for how she betrayed us like she did. "No body deserts anyone. We all stick together. If anyone comes up with an idea or gets a thought to go check something, then everyone goes with that person. We've already got a bad rep around the area as it is. Too many shots have been fired and we don't need to attract anymore attention to ourselves as it is. Am I understood?" I said.

Everyone nodded.

"We meet back here at noon," I said, "No later, no earlier."

We all left without a word. Molly and I tood my car.

---30 minutes later---

We pulled into the parking lot of the bank. I looked at Molly
"Here we go," I said.
We got out of my car and walked inside.

Oct-21-2009 11:38

The pier. Pier 117-A to be exact. Nellie was trying to remember what had happened there before- she knew, just knew, that she had heard something associated with that specific pier before. But what?

Nellie was also doing her best to stay out of Mr. VonVictor's way. Yes, they were on much better terms now- he didn't tell her "Rule number..." anymore, but still, better to stay on his good side. For this reason, she was being much quieter than usual.

Mr. Cain sat in the front passenger seat as Mr. VonVictor drove. Nellie gazed out the windows, watching the city streets as they passed, getting shorter and shorter as they neared the water.

The car pulled smoothly into a parking spot, and the three tumbled out, eager to get to the pier.

Oct-21-2009 13:01

Methodically, Molly pulled out her gun and checked the count of bullets. She closed it up and held it low in one hand, pointed towards the floor. She grinned slyly at Marc.

"Never can be too careful."

She went over and had hushed words with Ruby Kinsella, who was frowning. She took a look as Molly pulled out a couple of bills and put them on the ledge. Suddenly all smiles, Kinsella pocketed the money and waved them into a back room.

She bustled around and opened one of the safe deposit boxes, then looked around nervously.

"I'll just be waiting outside." she said, and squeezed past the two detectives as they advanced.

Molly pulled open the box and looked inside. The box was filled with pictures of Carol, and one neat white envelope. She picked it up and opened it. After staring at it for a couple of minutes, she spoke.

"Its an itinerary." she said finally, and showed it to Marc. "The tickets gone, but it's looks like its for a ship bound for London, docking tonight at..."

They both looked at one another and said in unison, "Pier 117-A!"

"We need to get down there!" Marc said, turning on his heel to go. Molly quickly scooped up the contents of the box and fled behind him, breezing past an astonished Kinsella on the way to the car.

"I wish we could warn them!" Molly said as Marc started driving like a bat out of hell, fighting through the city traffic towards the piers. Anxiously, she focused on sorting through the contents of the box, and was surprised when she picked up an envelope addressed to Charles Craig from a J. BILLINGS.

She opened it and saw one single printed sentence on a piece of stationery. The sentence was a jumble of letters and she spent the next 10 minutes decoding it. As they pulled into the pier parking lot, she straightened and read triumphantly, "Target: Molly Maltese Apt 45 Birchwood...HEY! HE IS NOT ALLOWED TO PUT A HIT OUT ON ME!"

Marc threw her a bemused look but said, "er, lets worry about that one later..."

Oct-21-2009 13:04

As the trio made their way to the guard house at the gate everyone kept quiet. The guard was the normal run of the mill guard angry and underpaid. " Hey whada youse want?" the guard asked?

Charlie seeing his name tag before the other two replied first...

" Well Mr. O' Mally my name is Charlie Cain this is Dr. Heimlich Von Victor and the pretty lady there is Nellie McKinzey we are private detectives. And were wondering if you will be so kind as to let us in and have a look at peir 117-A?" I said.

" Cain you used to work homicide down in 23rd precint right?" O'Mally asked?

" True, you work the job?" I asked

" Me, yeah I worked the job. And I remember you. And you aint on my list of people I like. I know what you did even if you did get away with it." O'Mally spat.

I rubbed my face and gave a not so polite smile. Just as I was about to belt this guy Nellie cut me off.

" Sir I'm a reporter and I have every right to go in there and look around. Unless there is something illegal going on in there I think you had better let us in or I will have ever reporter and cop down here crawling all over this place by the time the sun sets." Nellie said with a nod.

" Ma'am if you want in fine by me." O'Mally said and opened the gate.

" Nellie that was great." Heim said. "Yeah great job there lady." I said giving the guard a lingering glare.

" Well boys its all about finese." Nellie said laughing.

We all broke out laughing and headed to the peir. I could tell though Nellie finally got the respect she deserved from Heim and she definately earned mine....

Oct-21-2009 15:39

"Wait, is that them over by the guard gate?" Marc asked, then leaped out of the car and flagged the three down. Molly climbed out of the car a bit more slowly, her face livid as she murmured sinisterly about assasination and what she'd do to various components of Jack's body if she ever found him. Impatiently Marc grabbed her by the wrist and hauled her after him, paying no attention to the guard as he sputtered angrily.

"Guys, Charles Craig is going to be here tonight!" Marc panted. Molly suddenly snapped out of her foul mood and smiled benevolently at them all.

"Oh yes, that's right." she dusted Marc's hand off her wrist and started down the walk. "Pier 117-A houses a boat, as you may imagine."

She unfolded the itinerary sheet and brandished it as they all hurried to keep up with her.

"And this particular boat is leaving the country, and one particular man we're all dying to catch has a ticket to board this boat tonight."

"I think they like them referred to as ships." Nellie piped up, but Molly waved this information way.

"You say tomato, I say tomahto." she said breezily, and then turned the final corner and brought the group right up to the hull of the ship.

"The U.S.S Lucinda, if you must know." she said, and they all looked up at the ship in awe. It wasn't as big as some ships, as far as cruise liners or passenger ships went, but it was still pretty sizeable. Crewmen could be seen here and there, preparing the ship for her voyage.

"The question is whether he's on board or not." Molly said, frowning. "I dont know whats better; he could be on board right now, disguised as a sailor, or we could lose him in the rush of passengers at boarding time."

"This..is ingenious." Charlie said. "the 117-A's. His whole escape plan! How on earth did he do it?"

"I imagine the support of La Cosa Nostra is no small thing..." Heimlich said, and they all lapsed into silence, wondering what they should do next...

Oct-22-2009 19:37

"We're getting on that ship," I said.

Heimlich looked at me. "Marc? Are you sure about this? What if he's not on that ship?"

Nellie and Molly both nodded in agreement. Heimlich was right. But there was the smallest, slightest chance that he was going to be on that ship and if he was, I was going to get him. Not just me. But Heimlich, Molly, Nellie, and Charlie. WE were going to get him. All of us were going to bring him to justice.

"I think its a code. Everything he has, has been labled with the number '117'," I said, "If we're lucky, his room number is 117."

There was a silence that stunned them all. "We dont' have time to get clothes packed." Charlie said.

I looked up. "We're getting on that ship." I said. Everyone nodded. "Let's go," I said.

Everyone walked to the ship. The guard was standing there taking tickets. "Tickets?" he said as we walked up.

I pulled out my badge as well as everyone else.

He looked at us and rolled his eyes. Then he muttered something under his breath.

Heimlich walked up to the guard. "Look, we are after a high profile killer here...It would be a shame if you don't let us on to find him, and somebody else ends up getting killed."

The guard stepped aside and let us on. Something deep in my gut told me that Craig was on that ship to London. And we were going to catch him. Even if it took us to find him in London.